A Book Review
“Fifty Million Rising” by Saadia Zahidi
How 50 million working women in the Muslim world are bringing a quiet revolution in the workplace and changing the society around them.
It’s 2020, but there is still a gender imbalance in the workforce. Much has been written and said about the issues of women in the job market, but not enough has been written about the Muslim women in the workforce. Where are they? Do they just wear a hijab and sit at homes, or do they also work? What kind of work do they do?
Written at a time when Islamophobia is rampant in the world and there is a misconception about women in the Muslim world, Saadia Zahidi’s new book Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World shows readers the important new statistics of Muslim women in the workforce.
In 2002, there were 100 million Muslim women in the formal job market. In 15 years, that number has grown to 155 million. Globally, the only country which has progressed the most in closing the gender gap in the last 10 years is Saudi Arabia. These 50 million additional women in the Muslim world who have joined the workforce in the last ten to fifteen years are bringing a quiet revolution to both the workplace and home by actively working to ameliorate the financial burden on their families and working toward their own economic independence.
The growth of Sadia, a female McDonald’s worker in Rawalpindi, from a waitress to a manager is symptomatic of the freedom of choice that she now enjoys, which is something that her mother’s generation didn’t have. Women in the Muslim world today have different aspirations than what their mothers and grandmothers had decades ago, which extends beyond personal fulfillment to professional fulfillment.
Combined, the 155 million women working in the Muslim world today have a total disposable income of almost $1 trillion, which makes them the 16th largest economy in the world.
The book’s most important theme is that “economics is trumping culture.” These Muslim women are bringing an economic change which, in turn, is leading to a socio-cultural change. According to Zahidi, the economic empowerment of women drives social change by transforming the perception of women’s roles and values in their society.
In Pakistan, medicine is the most sought-after profession for females because of the social prestige associated with women having medical degrees. However, the majority of women discontinue their practice after getting married and having children. No stranger to this norm herself, Sara Khurram saw this wider societal issue and wanted to do something about it. She created a digital platform called Sehat Kahani, so that married female doctors could come back into the workforce. Using technology, Sehat Kahani connects female doctors to other women in impoverished areas where access to health is virtually non-existent. Examples like these identify a social problem women face in their local context and offer an economic solution that is well-suited to the existent social and cultural norms.
A key concept that Zahidi puts forth is that of a “third way” — “Neither overtly feminist nor wholly traditional, this ‘third way’ has helped women gain a footing in the workforce while still adhering to traditional norms around marriage and motherhood, facilitated by the prevailing social infrastructure.” In this Third Way, women have to balance their work with their previously defined social roles so that it is a win-win for both the woman and her family. It’s important because most of the backlash that working Muslim women receive is owing to the prospective negligence of their defined household duties. The stories of working Muslim women who show that both jobs can be done simultaneously are setting an example for the Third Way moving forward.
Commenting on the causes for the influx of Muslim women in the workforce, Zahidi attributes it to economic need, technological change, higher levels of education, and changing social norms. Many new families are open to the practicality of dual-income households, which makes it easier for women to work. These women also have more access to jobs because of increasing levels of education and technology. Zahidi believes that this change is organic and not one that is inspired from a top-down policy approach. Technology has become a tool for female empowerment.
Cairo, Egypt has one of the world’s worst traffic. A software engineer, Samira Negm, who lost five hours every day commuting to work while also facing harassment in public transport, decided to build a startup called Raye7, a ride sharing service which provides women safety in travelling while also solving the traffic problem of Cairo. Samira is transforming the transportation industry in Cairo, and her solution is not only making it safe for women to travel, but is also helping to reduce the traffic congestion. Raye7 is uniquely modeled to cater to the transit needs of women within the cultural context of a city like Cairo.
According to Zahidi, this is not an outlying trend or a blip in the economic shift that is happening in the Muslim world. She estimates that the number of working women in the Muslim world will rise to 250 million by 2025, and these women will go on to play a pivotal role in the future.
To purchase this book, click here.
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